Chief Keef sprung from jail 10 days early for good behavior

Keith Cozart, known as the rap artist Chief Keef, was sentenced to 20 days in Cook County Jail this morning after testing positive for marijuana, officials said.

Keith Cozart, known as the rap artist Chief Keef, was sentenced to 20 days in Cook County Jail this morning after testing positive for marijuana, officials said. (Cook County Sheriff's Dept.)

Carlos SadoviTribune reporter

Keith Cozart, known as the rap artist Chief Keef, was released from the Cook County jail this morning where he was sentenced to 20 days after testing positive for marijuana, officials said.

Cozart was sentenced Oct. 15 but was released this morning after receiving good time credit which cut his sentence in half, said Lisa Gordon, a spokeswoman for the Cook County State's Attorney's office.

Sophia Ansari, a spokeswoman for the Cook County Sheriff's office said the rap star was not released early but rather he earned his release for good conduct while in custody. Inmates arrested on non-violent offenses are eligible for day for day credit if they exhibit good conduct in jail.

The judge that sentenced him also gave him one day credit the day he was taken into custody which brought the total days he served to nine days Ansari said.

While Cozart was in custody, he had a court hearing in family court for an ongoing paternity case in which he was represented by his attorney. The judge in that case rescheduled his court hearing for Dec. 10 at 11 a.m at the Daley Center, Ansari said.

Cozart was taken into custody after being required to undergo random drug testing after pleading guilty to a speeding ticket he received over the summer, officials have said.

On Oct. 15, Cozart was ordered to jail during a hearing at the Skokie Courthouse, Ansari said.

Cozart, 18, paid $531 to settle the ticket he got after he was clocked going 110 mph behind the wheel of a BMW on the Edens Expressway at Winnetka Road in the early morning hours of May 27. He was placed on probation for 18 months and ordered to undergo random drug testing.

Cozart has had several legal scrapes in the last few months.

Last month, he was found to be in contempt of court after failing to pay child support, according to authorities and court records.

On June 17, the day he pleaded guilty in the speeding case, Cozart was served with his second paternity suit and was also charged with trespassing at his former home in the Parkway Gardens apartment complex on the South Side. His first paternity case, which is pending, was filed in December by another woman.

Cozart was arrested last August for cannabis possession in Miami Beach, Fla. and this past May for smoking marijuana at a posh suburban Atlanta hotel.

In the Miami Beach incident, police said Cozart was caught riding in a stolen red Ferrari convertible as he celebrated his 17th birthday. According to the police report, he had a quick answer for the police sergeant who asked if he was carrying any weapons: "I have weed in my right front pocket."

Cozart failed to show up in court in Florida because he was in jail in Chicago for violating his probation from a gun conviction. An arrest warrant is pending.

On May 20, Cozart was arrested at the Le Meridien Atlanta Perimeter Hotel in Dunwoody, Ga., north of Atlanta, police said.

Security officers told police they had noticed a smell of marijuana coming from the room and called police, who arrested him for disorderly conduct, according to a police report.